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I've had a hard time trying to find a urologist who wouldn't give me stress or an after school special lecture about having a vasectomy. Only until very recently have I had some success in finding someone who didn't want to give me a headache.
I came across some reading material about "No-Scalpel" vasectomies and I was curious if any of the posters here had went through with this process? If so how did it feel? I've often heard lots of positive and negative personal stories from vasectomies. I think there's nothing like having peace of mind knowing that you won't be stuck with an 18 year car note, but at the same time I'd like to sire at least one child while i'm alive.
If you want to have at least one child, why are you interested in a vasectomy at all?
That would be my question.
My husband had this done almost 2yrs ago and I was in the room to watch the procedure. They gave him valium to take an hour before (I gave it to him at 35 minutes before though, which worked best for him).
He had 3 shots in his scr..tum (wow, can't say that word on here???)...one on either side in the vas and one in the center where they would clip the skin. He wound up needing two more shots of lidocain but he really wasn't feeling "pain"...just tugging. That is normal to feel tugging and pulling but the doc gave him more just in case.
He said when they were tugging on the vas it felt like they were pulling it down from his stomach, which is also a normal sensation during the procedure. It only took about 30 minutes for the entire process. They put a bandaid over the hole and he wore a jock and tighty whites for the next few days.
He walked like a penguin the first day and stairs were hard to do. He had it done on a Friday and went back to work on Monday, but wasn't getting around too well. He took another day off and then came home early a couple of days.
He had a granuloma and a lot of swelling so they gave him a prescription for ibuprophen. He still gets occasional aches and pains down there that last a day or three but nothing horrific. He can still function.
To me it looked like a walk in the park, but then I have a few surgeries under my belt and had some complications with them as well so I may be a little biased.
Honestly, I think for most men the anticipation of the procedure is worse than the actual procedure itself.
I asked him if he'd do it again after experiencing it and he said "absolutely".
Just do your research and my suggestion would be to choose a doc that acknowledges that there ARE risks and complications. They will be more likely to treat you with compassion and not blow off your complaints/concerns IF you do have issues afterwards. We had several consults and a lot of docs acted like we were being unrealisitc for acknowledging and asking about the possible complications.
Overall though, complications/risks are quite rare and most issues are easily remedied.
Oh...and most importantly...follow through with your sample afterwards! No sense in going through the whole process and then skipping that, but a good number of men do out of embarassment.
What *Sixy* is mentioning is the older way of performing the procedure. Many Doctors liked to perform the procedure on a Friday so that the patient could rest during the weekend and recover. The problem is with the scalpal and opening up what amounts to a half inch or so incision. With the no scalpal procedure you are opening up a pin like opening (Skin has an amazing way of strectching.) The recovery process is a lot less and quite a bit faster. I had the old way performed on me 6 years ago. I know this because my youngest just turned 6 years old and we figured that 6 kids was plenty. I was out for the weekend and didn't like it one bit. When the pain meds wore off I was not too happy and can't stand taking Vicodin at all. I have talked to a few of our Urologists and they say that the days of weekend long pain may be gone. Every case is differant and I am not a Doctor. Still from what I hear it is a walk in the park and you can still make it to the club on Saturday for some fun. (Ask your Doctor first to be sure.)
What *Sixy* is mentioning is the older way of performing the procedure.
No, he had the no-scalpel version. They numbed both vas and then the center of the scr*tum, made one hole with these tiny clipper/scissor looking things and pulled each vas out of that hole. The hole was about 1/2 the size of the diameter of a pencil eraser when it was stretched open to pull the vas through. No stiches for recovery, just a band-aid.
They still cut everything and cauterize inside, and that's where the bruising, swelling and discomfort afterwards can occur.
If you aren't too squeamish OP, google "no scalpel vasectomy video" and click on the link labeled "no scalpel, no needle vasectomy"..it's about 9 minutes long video and shows the procedure. You can have no-needle anesthetic but our doc felt the injection provided better anesthesia.
They advised against any activity for the weekend and still recommend they take it easy with an ice pack on the area to reduce swelling.
Everything they do inside the scr*tum is the same, it's just the opening they go through is much smaller.
DH had a "no needle" - walk in the park - and he is kind of a baby about needles and such. They numb you with some sort of air pressure gun that shoots lidocane in your skin without having to inject with a needle. His incision was the size of a grain of rice - just a tiny band aid. He had to wear the jock for a few. He took maybe one ibuprofen. Good luck to ya.
OP has not been back. I still wonder why he wants a vasectomy if he wants to have a child.
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No needle
